Why buy Altera? For Intel, the acquisition is about packaging Altera's programmable processors with its Xeon so enterprises can adjust algorithms on the fly. In the long run, think Intel's Internet of things.

Suffice to say, these chips are meant for massive big data sets run by large corporations and organizations relying on in-memory computing and big data to influence and shift their own global business practices.

With latest-generation Xeon processors, DDR4 RAM and a wide choice of GPUs, Dell's new Precision workstation is equipped to handle applications needing extreme processing power as well as high-end graphics. Storage options are limited, but otherwise it's an excellent and flexible workstation.

Intel has released the latest generation of its Xeon E5 processor family, with a range of features aimed at boosting performance, cutting power draw and making it easier to use in virtualised environments.

We expected the new low-power Haswell chips and Bay Trail Atoms for tablets. But on the first day of its annual conference, Intel offered a few surprises too, including working 14nm Core processors and a new Quark chip family for tiny devices.